Fed Releases Policy Minutes, Commodities Drop

Commodities fell today on signs that the Federal Reserve will reduce its asset purchase program. The US central bank released the minutes of its last policy meeting today. Traders were waiting for the release and, as many market participants have feared, it confirmed that the Fed is indeed ready to reduce monetary stimulus.

Truth be told, the bank did not say anything particularly new. Yes, it is going to scale down the size of asset purchases, but exact timing of such decision is not known as it is tied to economic performance, not to a specific date. Additionally, reduction of asset purchases does not mean an end to accommodative policy. Yet commodities suffered even as the Fed tried to mitigate the impact of its comments by careful wording.

October futures for delivery of WTI crude oil fell $0.22 (0.21 percent) to $103.63 per barrel as of 23:40 GMT on NYMEX today. December contract for gold lost $12.5 (0.91 percent) to $1,357.6 per troy ounce on COMEX. December copper declined $0.002 (0.06 percent) to $3.3105 per pound.
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